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French Slang
French slang (l'argot, in French) is a very casual way of talking French. You should not use it in a formal situation where politeness and good manners are required. But with good friends, in a relaxed context, you can use it to create a friendly linguistic environment. But beware, not everybody has the same understanding of l'argot. Some people may use it quite casually every day, others will avoid it in general.
Verlan
Verlan is a form of French slang that consists of playing around with syllables. Verlan is actively spoken in France, many verlan words have become so commonplace that they are used in everyday French.
Verlan was invented as a secret language, a way for people (notably youths, drug users, and criminals) to communicate freely in front of authority figures (parents, police). Because much of verlan has become incorporated into French, verlan continues to evolve - sometimes words are "re-verlaned."
To "verlan" a word, simply separate it into syllables, reverse them, and put the word back together. In order to maintain the correct pronunciation, the verlaned word often undergoes some spelling adjustments. Unnecessary letters are dropped, while other letters are added to make pronunciation logical. There are no real rules for this; it's just something to be aware of. Note that not every word can or should be verlaned; verlan is used essentially to emphasize or hide the meaning of the main word(s) in a sentence.
Let's start with the word l'envers, which means the reverse. Separate l'envers into its two syllables l'en and vers. Invert them, put them together into a single word, and then adjust the spelling: l'envers... l'en vers... vers l'en... versl'en... verslen... verlen... verlan Thus, you can see that verlan is l'envers pronounced à l'envers (reverse pronounced in reverse).
Most single-syllable words are just pronounced backwards.
Fou... ouf
Cool (from English)... looc
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